A Divided Culture?

I am primarily interested in why the ‘two cultures’ (art and science) seem to have drifted apart academically and culturally in recent times (scientific revolution). And whether the divide between science and art is as big as we think it is? Can a bridge be made? One of the largest debates on the subject has been focused around a case study made by Charles Percy Snow called – ‘The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution’ (1959) which is about his view on the social divide that had occurred due to the lack of insight into how governments were to cope with the industrial and scientific revolutions concerning the populations education, awareness, willing, opportunity or insight. Subsequently generations are now growing up in a world where every decade will see massive advances in science and technology and specialised disciplines will inevitably push the divide further apart.

o    Social Divide (education/training/culture/mindset) UK, USA,USSR – refer to C.P.Snow’ case study

I hope to find through studying various case studies, papers and article responses on the subject from various scholars, professors and working artists, a theory that I can be confident of and, answer my enquiry.

Do people naturally prefer to be more of a scientist or an artist? Or are we in fact nurtured or conditioned into having a preferential mindset?

This led me onto Legaspi’s paper on “Preferential States of the Dichotomy of Human Nature: Art and Science” where he attempts to examine the roots of the division in western culture presented by CP Snow’s “Two Cultures” case study in order to view their many present day ramifications and solutions.  This makes this paper essential to my research and is particularly interesting as Legaspi is also a working artist so it is fascinating to see what he thinks of the divide in cultures.

Legaspi goes on to query how CP Snow describes the arts and sciences as that of a dichotomy, when in reality they are not polarities apart at all. He uses the definition of “Dichotomy” to question whether these two cultures can be compared to one another. Dichotomy means a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or extremely different, and the example in Oxford’s American English dictionary describes it as follows, “a rigid dichotomy between science and mysticism”. This brings to enquiry whether art is to be seen as one and the same with mysticism. “The danger is when beliefs become overly polarized by extremists’ tendencies” (“Preferential States of the Dichotomy of Human Nature: Art and Science”- Legaspi 2006 p2.).

It could be said that this everlasting argument about the division is more perceived than actual and a lot of people would argue that it is healthy to have an interest in both science and art both personally and culturally as a society.

CP Snow’s famous intellectual essay has sparked many debates over the years regarding his portrayal of ‘the two cultures’, some critiques argued that Snow’s logic was flawed and that the tone of the writing was offensive and patronising to both artists and scientists. Even in recent years his ideas still have the muscle to incite angry debate. Lord Runciman, the president of the British Academy to the humanities and social sciences, delivered a speech in 2002, which was to celebrate 100 years since the founding of the Academy, calling for an end to the “two cultures” divide whilst describing Charles Percy Snow as “intellectually crass, politically naive, historically short sighted, and inept”.

(See Bizony, Piers’ – (19th Jan 2009) “The Great Divide” IET- collective inspiration).

People of opposing professions and indeed that of the general public may think of either/both science or art as subjects of mysticism with lack of knowledge or intrigue into the, at present, separate fields of study and indeed life. It is this which helps fuel a social divide between academics and ‘working class’. It is this naive perception of individuals that is helping the divide of disciplines instead of breaking them down and collaborating for a greater understanding and informative response to enquiry. Many things in science mystify me today even though I endeavour to understand the sciences on an intellectual level. However the two fields can’t be truly compared against one another as the two fields are not a true dichotomy at all. It is possible to have a wide field of interests and use the two disciplines to help enlighten one another; it’s a danger to society as a whole to segregate the two specialisations of art and science. The arts ignite people’s natural creativity and the use of it in industry is primary to the success and expansion of new ideas, which is, after all, how mankind got to where we are today.

C.P Snow recognises this problem within his case study concerning the modern educational system of Britain and how the government went about controlling and fuelling the industrial and scientific revolutions in turn segregating and specialising disciplines/people to churn out individuals of a certain profession depending on what (the sciences) they felt were most necessary for the wider community to benefit from.

The funding for the arts and humanities has been greatly reduced over the years yet the government is happy to boost the science funding in full support of any creative scientific theory that needs testing. It could be said that this favouritism puts more importance on science than the arts and this in turn puts a stigma on arts and creativity as a ‘hobby craft’ from an early age. I disagree and think there should me more emphasis on creativity and cultural arts within education and society as a whole needs this funding to help it continue to achieve a cultually happy and diverse society.